The Sound of Flower Petals
by InsertGoodandDecentNameHere
Summary: Another Oto squad at the Chunin exams? More of Orochuimaru's pawns. But maybe there's something more than that? She seems connected to him more than the others, and he doesn't treat her the same way. Perhaps, she is a pet? No, she definitely has her fair share of secrets, and some certain people are determinded to find out what they are. Sasuke/OC/Neji and slight Temari/OC


**A/N - Hello! Welcome to my Naruto fanfiction! Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only Atome, Kenta, Hiroki, Matoko and Tamashi. I'd really appreciate it it I got some construsting critisism from you guys :) Also, if you're wondering, I deleted my X-Men finfic because I felt as though it was terrible and getting nowhere. I haven't decided yet on who I'm going to ship Atome with, so I've just settled with Sasuke and Neji for now. Anyway, enjoy!**

**WARNING: THIS FANFICTION CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM EPISODE 21 AND ONWARD**

"The Chunin exams, huh?" The redhead asked while smirking smugly. "This'll be easy."

"Kenta, I highly suggest you pipe down and pay attention, or I'm afraid I'll have to make you." The other young male in the room looked over at his tall teammate with an irritated twitch.

The two stood either side of an expressionless maiden, whose silver hair was pulled back into a loose bun while her fringe hung to the side of her fair-skinned and beautiful face. Her eyes were an astonishing red and shone with an emotion that nobody could decipher. Pain? Irritation? Hate? Maybe even interest. Her headband, clearly labelling her as a ninja from Otogakure, was tied firmly around her waist, acting as a belt. She wore a white dress decorated with red flowers that travelled up from the bottom corner. The bottom half of it reached her thighs and was split down both sides. Underneath, she wore simple black shorts. Clear white bandages travelled down her arms until they met her elbows and her hands were accompanied with a pair of plain, black, fingerless gloves. A long wooden flute was tucked nicely into her headband's fabric.

Their leader cleared his throat, causing the red-haired boy, Kenta, to jump a little. "Yes, the Chunin exams. You all leave tomorrow morning." Their leader spoke in his usual raspy tone.

The team, consisting of Kenta, the girl, Atome and the boy with the black hair, Hiroki all stood lined up in front of their leader. He had explained to them that they were to travel to Konohagakure and participate in the Chunin exams, along with one other team. Their Sensei stood to the side of the room, listening intently while feeling worried and concerned for his team.

"Will they be travelling with us, Lord?" Asked Hiroki, gazing past his curtain of black locks.

"I hope not, I can't stand those guys!" The other boy exclaimed.

Their Lord nodded nonchalantly. "Dosu, Zaku and Kin are all expecting to see you at the outskirts tomorrow."

Kenta groaned loudly and mumbled curse words under his breath. "Dismissed." Their leader waved his hand for the four to leave and rest up for the trip. It seemed that Kenta had suddenly snapped out of his disappointed daze and hastily exited his room, having no plans to wait for the rest of his team.

-:-

"Goodnight, Atome." Waved her teacher, Matoko-Sensei as Atome twisted the silver object after inserting it into the keyhole. The girl lifted her hand with no effort and swayed it without looking back at him. Kenta and Hiroki had already departed to their own homes and families while Atome was returning to her empty bottom-floor apartment that she could barely even pay for. The girl stepped inside of her now wide open door and shut it gently behind her, leaving an exasperated looking brown-haired and blue-eyed man. Atome had almost always been this way, and honestly he doesn't know why he's determined to keep trying with her. All he wanted was to see her go back to who she was. The happy and chirpy girl she was. No, who was he kidding, that girl was long gone. Matoko sighed quietly and stuffing his hands into his trousers, he continued down the bleak path.

-:-

Dosu, Zaku and Kin were all waiting for the other team at the beginning of a bright forest at early hours. "Ha, finally decided to show up then?" Zaku smirked.

"For your information, Zaku, we were deliberately late just to make you God damn mad!" Kenta shook a fist at the boy he despised, growing angrier by the second.

"You're the only one that looks mad here." The tall boy dressed in camouflage replied cockily.

"Oh yeah?!" "Yeah!" Kenta and Zaku were millimetres away from each other, both growling bitterly.

"Enough. We're not here to fight, now let's go." Dosu spoke, obviously tired and cranky. Zaku leaned away from a fuming Kenta and crossed his arms disappointedly before jumping onto a tree branch.

"This should be an eventful trip." Hiroki smirked with sarcasm dripping from his mouth. With that, he leaped onto the same branch, followed soon after by Atome and Kin. Kenta calmed himself and followed also, Dosu in the rear as to keep an eye on everyone.

-:-

The entire journey was only filled with the bothersome arguments between Kenta and Zaku. Atome, Hiroki and Kin all made sure they were in between the two and Dosu lagged behind to make sure they didn't start anything physical.

This was why the two teams would always attempt to avoid each other. Kenta and Zaku have always hated each other. Ever since they were small and met over the fact they had the same leader, they constantly competed and screamed in each other's faces. The other members of both teams found it extremely irritating and uncalled for, but nonetheless, they could do nothing about it.

-:-

"I suggest we split up from here." Said Atome, eyeing the squabbling pair of idiots beside her. "That would be wise. I agree." Dosu nodded her way before calling Zaku over and absconding through the trees of Konoha. As Team Dosu leaped through the trees, Team Atome simply advanced down the busy streets.

They received many stares and glances from others in the village. Most of them originated from Konoha, but some were obviously from other countries. Atome noticed they were mostly from Suna, but there were others from places like Kiri, Iwa and Kumo too. She turned to face her teammate Hiroki.

"Do the Chunin exams begin today, Hiroki?" She deadpanned.

He shook his head slowly, distracted by a bird flying above him. "No, they are tomorrow. We are in need of a place to stay for the night. I suggest the small apartment block I have located a few streets from here." "Let us be on our way then."

Atome began to walk in the direction she assumed was correct but was soon stopped by Kenta's whining. "Awh, can't we eat first? I'm starving!" He moaned. "I suppose we could stop for something. What do you think, Hiroki?"

The black-haired boy nodded in response and the three continued down the path until coming to a small Ramen place. Atome entered through the curtains of fabric, only to be greeted by a cheerful old man and a younger looking girl. "Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen, would you care for some food?" The girl chirped.

Atome nodded once before gesturing the boys inside. All three sat in a line of seats and Hiroki ordered them a bowl of pork Ramen each.

-:-

"I'm telling you, Sakura, I beat him to a pulp!"

"Yeah, yeah. Naruto, Konohamaru said that he used Substitution Jutsu on you and got away!

"Well, still, if he hadn't have done that then I would've beat him to a pulp!" The blonde punched the air with a triumphant grin while the pink-haired girl face-palmed. The Uchiha walked beside them with his hands planted firmly in his pockets and his eyes closed in annoyance.

Out of nowhere, a boy with luminous red hair and bright green eyes bolted towards the trio, not looking at all where he was going. He collided with Naruto, sending them both flying opposite ways.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Kenta shouted at him, rubbing the back of his head. "Watch where _I'm _going? You bumped into me!" Naruto retaliated. Sakura was taken aback by the sudden appearance of the strange boy while Sasuke just scoffed. "Pathetic." He sneered. Kenta stood up and approached the Uchiha. He grabbed his blue collar and pulled him forward. "What did you call me?" He growled. "Hey, get your hands off Sasuke!" Whined Sakura, who had recently processed the situation and was now facing Kenta with an angry expression.

The boy in blue smirked and repeated himself. The green-eyed boy raised a fist, planning on making it connect with the ninja's face. Before he threw the punch, however, Hiroki appeared behind him and Atome appeared crouched in between of him and Sasuke. She swung her leg around and kicked Kenta in the stomach, sending him stumbling back into Hiroki's arms. Standing up straight and facing her two teammates, she brushed down her dress and glared at the redhead. "What did I tell you?" She snarled.

Kenta looked down, slightly embarrassed. "I-I'm sorry." Hiroki eyed the other team as Atome turned to face them. "My apologies. We find it difficult to keep him on a leash." She deadpanned. Sasuke looked her up and down. She was interesting. Fast, too.

"How old are you guys, anyway?" Asked Sakura. "Hiroki is thirteen," She gestured behind her to the dark-eyed boy who nodded in response. "And Kenta and I are twelve."

"So you're rookies too?" Asked the blonde of the six with a grin. "In our village, we graduated the Academy at the age of nine. So no, we are not rookies." Answered Hiroki politely. "Guys, can we hurry this up a bit? Zaku said he'd race me to our apartment and I'm not going to lose to him!" Kenta moaned. The silver-haired maiden sighed and turned to face her teammate. "Go on ahead." Immediately, Kenta was out of sight.

Sasuke stepped toward the girl with interested eyes. "What is your name?" He spoke as if he was demanding that she tell him. Atome turned to face him and tilted her head slightly. Who was this guy? He seemed like the kind of person you would want to keep an eye on. Although she knew nothing about him, she could tell how powerful he was. Perhaps that was the same for him. Could he feel her power too?

"Atome Hanabira. And yourself?"

"Sasuke Uchiha."

"Well, Sasuke Uchiha, I look forward to seeing you again."

Not seeing any sign of the girl wanting to know his name, Naruto collapsed on the ground in depression. Atome's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion before she leapt away with Hiroki by her side.

Sasuke stared after the two, attempting to figure the female out. She was definitely strong, and fast, but what else? There seemed to be a lot more about her and Sasuke, for some reason or another, was itching to find out what it was. She seemed to lack in emotion, but still they were present. She acted polite, obviously wanting to make a good impression. Her teammates as well. The one with the red hair was obviously an idiot, reminding him of a certain blonde he knew, and the other one, he seemed similar to the girl but still, Sasuke got a completely different vibe from him.

-:-

Kenta jumped up and down in victory as he realised that he had beaten Zaku to the apartment. The team stood outside of their apartment, waiting for the landlord to return with their key. After a while, they were approached. Not by the landlord, but by three ninjas who seemed to be from Sunagakure. The girl of the three carried a colossal sized fan and had four-way parted hair. Two boys, one with red hair and a gourd and the other with purple face-paint and some weird mummy thing on his back, accompanied her.

The girl smirked as she strode past them, followed by the guy with the face-paint who was also smiling at them. The third, and obviously youngest boy, stared intently at the three Sound Genin before continuing down the hall to his own room.

Atome stared back at him for a while, intrigued by his appearance. He looked like the kind of person you should only mess with if you life depended on it, and maybe not even then. Soon after, the old and frail landlord returned with the gleaming silver object that would give them access to their room. Hiroki thanked the man and took the key, placing it in its hole and entering the room.

The man returned downstairs to his wife while Kenta dived on the sofa, almost falling asleep.

Hiroki took a few minutes to inspect the apartment. "Alright, there are two rooms. Kenta and I will take the big one and Atome, you take the smaller one." He arranged. In a flash, Kenta was in his nightwear and fast asleep in the larger room. Atome smiled slightly at her loveable yet idiotic friend but it fell quickly, as if it had been slapped off of her face.

Hiroki followed after his male friend and slid the fusuma shut after him, saying a quick goodnight to Atome.

Atome entered her own room, changing clothes and creeping under her cool bed sheets. Thoughts raced through her head of what the following day would bring her and her friends, but more importantly, what the plan would bring. The plan to help their Lord. The plan to help him defeat his old sensei. The plan that could get them killed, and most definitely hated.

**What did I say to you about thinking like that? Konoha means nothing to you, Atome, it shouldn't matter if they hate you.**

That voice. That was the voice that was always present in her head. It was herself telling her this, and telling her things every other time. However, it never seemed to really be her. It's almost as if it's another person inside her head, pretending to be her.

But I do not want to be hated by any village. Haven't we done enough damage to other countries?

Atome felt a sharp sting develop on her cheek, as if she had been slapped across the face.

_**Don't be stupid. We have been building up to this, and you know that. Do not betray me now, Atome. Follow your orders.**_

Yes, of course.

_**Good girl. Now, get some sleep.**_

Atome began to drift off after the conversation she had had in her head. Her sleep was peaceful. It took her to a different world, a world where she had a family. A world where she was happy and cheerful, not caring about anything but those closest to her. It was the world that once was and never would be again.

-:-

"_Happy birthday, Tamashi!" A small nine-year-old girl with long silver hair and gleaming red eyes dived on the boy of the same age and appearance, giving him the biggest hug she possibly could. The boy emerged from under his covers and hugged the little girl back. "And you, Atome-chan." He giggled. The twins smiled at each other before their mother entered the room. _

"_Happy birthday, you two." The woman smiled. She, herself, had long brown hair and dark, almost black, eyes. She was a kind woman with a very motherly and gentle personality. From behind her back, she pulled out two carefully wrapped presents of about equal size. She sauntered over and placed herself gently at the end of Tamashi's white bed. _

_The woman handed her children a present each and the tore off the paper viciously. Atome gasped when she saw the beautiful trinket. Both her and her brother received a traditional Omamori. Hers was white and red, while Tamashi's was black and blue. Each Omamori resembled a different thing and gave the person receiving it said thing. Atome's was for happiness, and her brother's was for strength. Although, the girl questioned why she would even need happiness. She was the happiest girl in the world, knowing that she had both her mother and Oniichan there with her. _

"_Thank you, Mother!" Atome squealed and hugged the woman, who chuckled kindly in return. "Yes, thank you." Smiled Atome's twin brother thankfully. "Oh! I have one for Tamashi, too!" The young girl rushed back to her room, tripping in the process but getting herself together soon after. _

_The woman grinned softly at her descending daughter, whom she loved very much. She wished the young girl happiness throughout the rest of her life, knowing that one day she would be unable to be with her in times of need. However, she knew that Tamashi would do anything to keep his sister safe, thus causing her worry to dissipate. Tamashi was important to her, as well, as he was her son and she loved him so much. She loved both of her children and would definitely never let anything happen to them._

_The silver-haired girl returned with her hands behind her back and wearing a big smile on her fair-skinned face. She giggled excitedly as she crept towards her brother. "Ready?" She grinned as Tamashi nodded his head. Quickly, Atome stuck her hand out in front of her Oniichan, watching as the ruby on the end of the necklace swayed in the air. Tamashi grinned at his present, taking it from her sisters clenched fist and tying it around his pale neck._

"_Wow, Atome, it's beautiful, thank you!" He pulled his younger twin sister into a hug, stroking her silver locks a little. _

_He pulled out of the hug, holding the frail little girl at arms length and looking kindly into her crimson contacts. Reaching behind him, he almost fell from his bed but regained his balance and pulled a long instrument from his draw. _

_Beaming kindly, he held the wooden flute out to his sister, who took it quickly and gazed down at it in awe. She yelped gleefully, hugging and thanking her brother before attempting to play the gift, but failing miserably. Nevertheless, Atome was determined to play something good. All she managed to emit was a painful, high-pitched shrill._

_Her face grew pink in embarrassment and she scratched the back of her head awkwardly. "I guess I need some practice, huh?" She laughed._

Atome rubbed her eyes sleepily. Even after her slumber, she couldn't help but wonder about the exams. She thought about all of the different stages of them, and what would happen to herself and her comrades throughout them. Finally, she decided to put her thoughts aside and just see for herself what was to come.

-:-

Sluggishly, she heaved herself up from her mattress, ignoring the squeaks of pain coming from the bed itself. Atome took her time changing and bringing herself to leave the room, feeling that if she was slow, everyone would leave without her and let her sleep some more. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case.

Hiroki and Kenta were both waiting in the kitchen with a plate of deliciously smelling pancakes ready for her to chow down on. With there obviously being no hope of her being left alone, she scoffed the pancakes in a very unladylike fashion before scrubbing her teeth roughly.

"Ready?" Grinned Kenta as Atome exited the bathroom and nodded at him. Kenta couldn't wait for these exams. They'd be a piece of cake! Right? Suddenly, he began to get nervous and doubt his abilities very much. His teammates knew, however, that even though he acted like an idiot, he was a very skilful ninja. Ignoring the anxiety that was weighing his stomach down, he tracked out the front door, just seeing the Sand ninja turn the corner. He was soon followed by his downer teammates, who made sure to shut and lock the door behind them.

-:-

As Team Atome entered room 301, they received threatening stares from other ninjas. Atome glared at every single one of them individually before sitting down, completely satisfied with the effects of her steely eyes.

The trio sat for a while, not conversing with each other or anyone else. Suddenly, Atome shifted her gaze to the front of the room at the sound of her name. There she saw none other than the all-too-famous nine rookies of the Leaf. Along with someone else she recognised.

Now listening intently, wondering where she came into this, Atome heard the conversation between the Uchiha and the other, grey-haired man she knew.

"Man, that's no fun, you even know their names. That makes it easy."

"Well, well, look who's here." Atome smirked at the familiar face. Hiroki lifted his head in interest and followed the girl's eyes. "Kabuto." He whispered. "Kenta, are you listening?" Hiroki asked the green-eyed boy beside him without taking his eyes from the man in purple and his cards.

Getting no response, Hiroki turned to Kenta questioningly, only to see that he was fuming and shaking a fist in the air. This time, the dark-haired boy followed Kenta's gaze. "Look at him, all smug like he's better than everyone." Kenta spoke of Zaku through gritted teeth.

Atome was suddenly interested in what the boys were talking about instead of Kabuto and the rookies. It seemed that Sasuke wanted information on her. But why? Why was he so determined to find out more about the girl? She discarded the thought, watching as Kenta grew angrier at the tall boy in camouflage. It seemed they had noticed that Kabuto was speaking words of their village.

She spun her gaze to rest back on the grey-haired man, who was indeed talking about the Sound village and how it, along with the six Shinobi from it, were a mystery. Well, he was right. Nobody knew anything about the village, except them, of course. They were weird and slightly intimidating to other villages, not having seen the Oto ninjas before and knowing nothing about them. Atome liked the way it put people on edge. That was a positive aspect of belonging to the Village Hidden in the Sound.

Out of nowhere, a scream emitted from the mouth of the blonde boy they met earlier. He was pointing at the crowd with a determined and smug grin on his whiskered face. "My name is Naruto Uzamaki, and I'm gonna beat every one of you. Believe it!" He screamed.

_What an idiot_, thought Atome before her gaze shifted back to Team Dosu. Immediately, Atome realised what they were thinking. They were planning on teaching Kabuto a little about themselves, being a mystery and all. The silver-haired twelve-year-old glared at them, hoping they wouldn't cause too much of a scene. They just couldn't handle being unknown, could they? Atome kept her guard up, planning on stopping the other Oto squad when they commence their stupid little idea.

After hearing a few squabbles from the rookies, Atome, Hiroki and Kenta noticed Team Dosu disappear, only to reappear by Kabuto, advancing an attack. Team Atome leapt forward. Kenta pushed Kabuto back to skid across the floor, dodging two kunai that Zaku had thrown.

Hiroki saw Kin coming towards the man in purple, in an attempt to kick him in the head. The dark-haired thirteen-year-old blocked her kick and threw back her leg so that she stumbled back alongside Zaku.

Atome attempted to block Dosu's punch but sadly, there wasn't enough room between him and Kabuto for her to get in. Instead, after he threw the punch, she crouched down and kicked him in the stomach, similar to the way she kicked Kenta earlier, but this time a lot harder and with both of her feet.

Team Atome Stood in line, facing the other Oto squad in a protective stance. Kabuto seemed smug for a moment before his glasses shattered and everyone's eyes widened. Atome stepped out of Kabuto's way, knowing what was coming next.

"Oh, I get it, so it was that kind of attack." The grey-haired Shinobi removed his broken spectacles. "Hang on, I saw it all, he dodged the attack. How did that happen?" The Uchiha boy stomped forward. "It must have come closer than it looked." Another boy scoffed. "Look at him, acting like it was nothing, real tough guy."

Atome, Hiroki and Kenta all eyed the nine rookies, who seemed to be eyeing both them, and Team Dosu in return.

Unsurprisingly to both Oto squads, Kabuto hunched over and the floor and emptied the contents of his stomach while a few Leaf ninja called out his name.

"Dosu, was that really necessary?" Asked Atome with an angry expression. There was no need for them to cause a scene like that. These guys really pushed her buttons. They were so over-confident, it drove her crazy sometimes.

_**That's right, scold them, Atome, they deserve your words of disgust.**_

I am not disgusted, just angry.

_**They deserve it.**_

_I'm just angry!_

_**They deserve it.**_

"Of course, Atome. Didn't you hear him insult our village?" The bandaged man replied.

"I heard no insults. Only that we are a mystery." She now had a deadpan expression.

"Idiot, that _was_ an insult." Kin smirked with her hands placed cockily on her hips.

"I took no offence." Spoke the oldest of Team Atome.

"Yeah, me either. You guys just can't handle the fact that nobody knows who you are." Kenta glared at the three, utter annoyance and anger seeping from his lips.

"Shut it, Kenta, we deserve to be known by these freaks!" Zaku waved his fist at the green-eyed boy.

Dosu smiled past the girl. "Not such a tough guy after all, I guess. Maybe that's why he's on his seventh try." He sneered. "Write this on your little card, punk; Team Dosu from the Sound Village will be Chunin when this is over. Guaranteed." Zaku smirked with the cockiness that sent the redhead into raging fits.

"And you don't think Team Atome will, too?" Sneered Kenta. Zaku chuckled. "Well, you have more of a chance than these guys. I mean you _are _from Oto too."

-:-

Out of nowhere, a huge cloud of smoke blocked everyone's vision. They couldn't see anything, despite being in the cloud itself. All that was present was a voice. A cold, mocking and mature voice.

"Alright you baby-faced degenerates, pipe down and listen up."

The smoke seemed to disappear, leaving a previously empty space taken up by some Chunins, Jounins, and the man speaking. He was a ruthless looking man with deep scars lying across his tanned face.

"It's time to begin. I'm Ibiki Morino, your proctor, and from this moment, your worst enemy." He grinned.

Kenta felt shivers sprint up and down his spine as he gulped in fear. Hiroki stood to the side with a smirk, knowing how much fun he was about to have. Atome stood with a deadpan expression, secretly looking forward to what awaited them.


End file.
